A man is facing animal cruelty charges after he rode his senior horse nearly 700 miles on a trek from his home in South Carolina to Key West, Florida. According to Wednesday’s publication of the Miami-Herald, 36-year-old Chris Emerson found himself in trouble after his horse, “Trigger,” was found to be “dangerously malnourished.”
Emerson started his journey four months ago…he acknowledged that he had no means to feed his horse (or himself) and recently, concerned people had began reaching out to the South Florida SPCA to report that the horse seemed to be struggling, and underweight. SPCA spokeswoman Laurie Waggoner noted that Trigger, who is approximately 20-years-old and blind in one eye, was in “no condition” to travel the distance that his owner was forcing him to travel – she stated:
He is almost completing lacking in subcutaneous body fat. He has very little muscle. You can see the skeletal structure. You can feel all of his ribs. You can see the individual vertebrae, his hip bones and all the bones on the horse. His back is very sensitive. He gets very mad if you touch it because it is very sensitive for him
On Thanksgiving, the South Florida SPCA updated Facebook followers about the malnourished horse who was taken from Emerson’s care:
It’s a very happy Thanksgiving for Trigger. He’s enjoying plenty of healthy feed, hay & fresh, clean water in the safety of our ranch. Thank you all for your kind words, messages of support, and your donations toward his care.
Donations for Trigger’s care can be made at this link.
https://www.facebook.com/SouthFloridaSPCA/videos/10154874503339258/
Thank u so much to everyone who called this in and to the South Florida SPCA !!!!
I had an elderly, one eyed horse who I fully retired at 22 and he was in prime condition, no way would I even consider riding him that far without provisions for his care and well being along the way. Warlock enjoyed his retirement living with my band of mares until age finally caught up with at 40. This man should be ashamed of himself for doing this to an ageing horse
What an asshole to think he can ride a horse without food for such a long distance. What was his reasons for traveling with a horse to such a long distance to begin with?
What the hell was he thinking? Oh wait he didn’t think or give a shit